How To Get Bigger Quads

Get Rid Of Your Chicken Legs With These 6 Exercises For Bigger Quads

Gone are the days when guys could get away with just doing bicep curls and tricep extensions. Big arms don’t win races and they sure as hell don’t make you look appealing when they’re supported by chicken legs that shake at the sight of a 135-pound loaded bar.

Having strong, defined legs doesn't only look better. It gives your body the support and power it needs to perform at its best. We asked Daniel “Quadzilla” Petro, competitive CrossFit athlete and coach — his nickname speaks volumes about his insanely powerful lower half — to talk about the best moves for getting legs like his:

“It is rare that I have more than one or two days a week when I am not working my legs in some way,” says Petro.

Here are his six top moves for building strong, powerful legs:

1. Barbell Thruster

The thruster is one of the most well-known — albeit one of the most dreaded — barbell moves in CrossFit. That’s probably largely due to the fact that it’s a full-body burner made famous by “Fran” – a killer workout that involves 45 total thrusters at 95 pounds with the same number of pull-ups mixed in. "Fran" is an intense test of pacing, strength, and mental determination.

To properly perform the barbell thruster, set the bar in a rack slightly below shoulder level. Get under the bar while keeping your knees slightly bent. Rest the bar on top of your front deltoids. The bar should push into your clavicles and lightly touch your throat. Your hands should be in a clean grip, touching the bar only with your fingers to help it stay in position.

Push upwards into the bar while pushing your hips forward. Step away from the rack and place your legs in a shoulder-width stance with your toes slightly pointed out. Keep your head and elbows up at all times. Your triceps should remain parallel with the ground. Keep a neutral neck and flat back. This will be your starting position.

Descend into a squat by pushing your hips and butt back. Lower yourself until your upper legs are at parallel or just bellow parallel to the floor. Inhale as you perform this portion of the movement. As you prepare to ascend, push through your heels and begin to wrap your fingers tightly around the bar for a firm grip. As you near the top of your squat, press the bar up towards the ceiling, allowing your neck to hyperextend so that the bar has room to move. In the final portion of the movement, your arms should be fully extended overhead and your legs straight. And you should maintain tightness from head to toe.

Lower the bar slowly, allowing your knees to bend to lessen the blow. Immediately transition back into the squatting movement as you start the next rep.

2. Back Squat

To perform a proper back squat, get under the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart and rest the bar on your upper back. Place your hands just outside your shoulders — within the gnarling of the bar — with a full grip and your elbows pointing towards the ground. Push your hips back and slowly descend until you reach just under 90 degrees while keeping your heels glued to the floor and maintaining a strong lumbar curve throughout. Once you reach the bottom, slowly reverse the movement.

3. Wall Ball

Wall balls can be deceiving. A few wall ball shots aiming at a 10-foot target are no problem, but they slowly become super taxing on your legs as the reps increase. Don’t believe me? Try doing the "Karen” workout (150 wall balls for time) the next time you have a few minutes to kill.

Pick up the wall ball — generally a 20-pound ball for men and a 14-pound ball for women — and hold it to your chest in a standing position. Start squatting: Push your hips back and slowly descend until you reach just under 90 degrees while keeping your heels glued to the floor and maintaining a strong lumbar curve throughout. But instead of slowly returning to the top, quickly shoot up and throw the ball towards the target. Catch the ball and lower yourself back down with control.

4. Front Squat

This move is often overlooked by those who don’t practice CrossFit or Olympic lifting. But front squats are actually easier on your back and knees than back squats. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning concluded the front squat is as effective as the back squat in terms of overall muscle recruitment — with significantly less compressive forces.

In a standing position, approach the bar with your hands just outside of your shoulders. Keep a loose, fingertip grip on the bar as you stretch your elbows in front of your body. Focus on keeping your elbows raised throughout the entire movement. Squat down until your legs are below parallel to the floor and reverse the movement with control.

5. Walking Lunges

Lunges not only work your quads, but they are also super beneficial for your glutes so you'll be filling out those Relentless Jeans in no time.

You can perform walking lunges with a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells or without any weight at all. Take one step forward while keeping the heel of your forward leg on the grown. Lower yourself until your back knee touches the ground. Try to keep your forward shin as vertical as possible. Once you've reached full hip and knee extension, push yourself back up while taking a step forward to repeat the movement on the other side.

6. Barbell Clean

With a loaded bar on the ground in front of you, stand with your feet as wide as your hips and your hands about a thumb’s distance from your hips. Lightly hold the bar. Position your shoulders slightly in front of the bar. Keep your back straight remove the move the slack in your elbows and shoulders. Allow your hips and shoulders to rise at the same time, then explosively pop your hips. Shrug your shoulders and pull your body under the bar to receive it at the bottom of the front squat position. Slowly rise back up and repeat.